NYC04LA142

The student pilot was conducting his third supervised solo flight, and had completed two takeoffs and landings. During his third landing attempt, after the helicopter contacted the ground, it began to vibrate violently. The student pilot was not able to stop the vibration, before the helicopter began to break apart. The accident was witnessed by the student pilot's flight instructor, who stated he utilized a hand-held radio to tell the student to pick up the helicopter, in order to recover. Examination of the landing skid dampers revealed that they were improperly charged. The helicopter had been operated for 371 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed about 6 months prior to the accident. The helicopter had been operated for 85 hours since it's most recent 100-hour inspection. The student pilot had accumulated 22 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make and model as the accident helicopter.

On June 15, 2004, about 1820 eastern daylight time, a Schweizer 269C, N2065T, was substantially damaged while landing at Hampton Roads Executive Airport, Norfolk, Virginia. The certificated student pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the solo instructional flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the student pilot was conducting his third supervised solo flight, and had completed two takeoffs and landings. During his third landing attempt, after the helicopter contacted the ground, it began to vibrate violently. The student pilot was not able to stop the vibration, before the helicopter began to break apart.

The accident was witnessed by the student pilot's flight instructor, who stated he utilized a hand-held radio to tell the student to pick up the helicopter, in order to recover.

Examination of the landing skid dampers conducted by Schweizer Aircraft Corporation revealed that they were improperly charged. Three of the four dampers had maximum travel compression values in excess of that specified for their part number. According to a Schweizer representative, the improperly charged dampers would have effected their attenuation capability.

The helicopter had been operated for 371 hours since it's most recent annual inspection, which was performed on December 23, 2003. The helicopter had been operated for 85 hours since it's most recent 100-hour inspection.

The student pilot had accumulated 22 hours of total flight experience, all in the same make and model as the accident helicopter.

According to FAA publication FAA-H-8083-21, "Rotorcraft Flying Handbook:"

"Ground resonance is an aerodynamic phenomenon associated with fully-articulated rotor systems. It develops when rotor blades move out of phase with each other and cause the rotor disc to become unbalanced. This condition can cause a helicopter to self-destruct in a matter of seconds....If the rpm is low, the corrective action to stop ground resonance is to close the throttle immediately and fully lower the collective to place the blades in low pitch. If the rpm is in the normal range, you should fly the helicopter off the ground, and allow the blades to automatically realign themselves. You can then make a normal touchdown...."